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The ɫ����Ƶ(ɫ����Ƶ) will welcome artist Patrisha McLean, advocate for survivors of domestic violence, for a presentation about her acclaimed exhibit, “Finding Our Voices: Breaking the Silence of Intimate Partner Abuse,” on Monday, Feb. 10, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Biddeford Campus Center.

McLean was thrown into the public eye in 2016 after her former husband, Don McLean of “American Pie” fame, was arrested on charges of domestic violence. Following her divorce six months later, the photographer turned pain into art with “Finding Our Voices,” a multimedia exhibit that pairs photos of 21 domestic violence victims with audio of their voices recounting their stories. 

At ɫ����Ƶ, McLean will share her story of entrapment and freedom to an audience in the Multipurpose Room of the Biddeford Campus Center. She will also present a slideshow of the journeys of five other survivors of intimate partner abuse in connection with the exhibit. 

McLean said she is excited to talk with ɫ����Ƶ students directly about the issues of domestic violence and relationship abuse.

“Young people are who I particularly want to reach with my project,” she said. “It's a lot easier to avoid abusive relationships than leave them, and I am looking forward to sharing red flags to look out for and also to get campus conversations going around this issue."

McLean was named one of “50 Mainers creating a brighter future for the state” by Maine Magazine in 2019. That same year, The New York Times devoted an entire page to her story and project. She represented the U.S. in a world-wide symposium on gender-based violence and has given keynote presentations on “What Trapped Me: What Freed Me,” an initiative to highlight domestic violence as a human rights issue, to groups around the country.  

This event is being organized by the ɫ����Ƶ Center for Excellence in Collaborative Education (CECE), a University-wide hub for cross-disciplinary education and collaborative practices across academic disciplines.

ɫ����Ƶ student Kimberly Davis (M.S.W., ’21), who has assisted CECE in bringing “Finding Our Voices” to campus, said the presentation and exhibit will foster ongoing University-wide conversations about domestic violence — both about what it means to be a victim and how victims can recognize the signs of abuse.

“I am absolutely convinced of the power of using the arts to create social change,” Davis said. “I hope people will see that domestic violence happens to every category of people, and I hope that it creates awareness of what specifically the trauma of being a victim looks like.”

Davis also said she is thankful to ɫ����Ƶ for providing a space for students and domestic violence survivors to engage openly in discussion.

“I am really proud of my university for hosting this event. It’s hard-to-deal-with information, but it’s important,” Davis said. 

There will be a question and answer session with McLean following her presentation. Additionally, “Finding Our Voices” will be on display in the ɫ����Ƶ Campus Center throughout the month of February, a year after it first opened in Camden.

This event is co-sponsored by the ɫ����Ƶ Office of Intercultural Student Engagement.